“Whoever watches the wind will never plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will never harvest.” (Ecclesiastes 11:4, GW)
There is never going to be a time in your life when you can guarantee that all your circumstances and situations will line up so perfectly that you would never need to deal with or overcome something in order to get to the place you desire to be at that given time.
Our text suggests that we will not always have the perfect conditions in which to do the work that we need to do, yet we can strive to be fruitful despite the absence of optimal conditions. God has given us grace to produce result even in the difficult circumstances provoked by the fall; and He will bless your diligent effort.
The question is not whether there will be “wind and clouds” in your life that threatens to hinder your plans or to discourage you from taking that next step. The life-changing question is what will your response be to “the wind and the clouds”? To be fruitful in any aspect of life we have to learn how to work without seeing “the wind and the clouds” as excuses for doing nothing but as set-backs that we have to overcome so that performance is not unduly hampered.
Like many similar Bible passages, our text teaches the value of diligence and consequence of laziness. This concern is expressed succinctly in Proverbs 10:4 thus, “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” And I implore you to understand this passage in the more general sense of “failure” and of being “successful”.
Life is peppered with imperfections and punctuated by unforeseen circumstances that often disrupt and cause plans to be altered; yet life must be lived under these imperfect conditions albeit by the grace that God gives, and should not be put on hold waiting for perfect conditions, Mr Right, right connections, and so on.
Get on with living! There is never going to be a job or a business that assures success without overcoming challenges. You will have to deal with people and systems, and neither is perfect. There's never going to be a marriage so perfect that it is devoid of differences of opinion and occasional spats. People who are preoccupied with "the wind and the clouds" in their marriage, for example, will always be dissatisfied. They never actually commit the time and effort necessary to build a lasting loving relationship and a happy home because they waste the time and expend their emotional energy “observing the wind and regarding the clouds”.
The truth is that as long as we are still here in this physical world, we must be ready to function as best as we can under imperfect conditions. We must be ready, whatever the wind condition, to plant our seed in seedtime, and when the harvest is ripe we must be ready to go out to the field and bring in the harvest regardless of the cloud! That's what life is: whatever the condition, doing nothing is not an option.
If you’re too cautious waiting for the ideal conditions, you will never 'press forward', you will never break through barriers, and you will never get anything done. Am I suggesting that one throws caution to the wind and act rashly? Certainly not! That will be just drifting to the other extreme position, and just as bad as doing nothing.
At the heart of our text, however, is the unavoidable thought that those who insist on waiting for the right moment before they make a decision or do their work or perform their Christian duty would unfortunately live largely unproductive lives.
The future is never in our control and the wind will blow and the clouds will form as they must. But we must have courage and a strong resolve to diligently carry on despite uncertainties: God has created us to find satisfaction in work. “There is nothing better for people to do than to eat, drink, and find satisfaction in their work. I saw that even this comes from the hand of God”, the wise King Solomon observed (Ecclesiastes 2:24, GW).
God created us to be fruitful, industrious, productive, and continually diligent. Make the effort therefor; even when the situation looks hopeless. Fight the good fight of faith anyway. “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically” (Romans 12:11, NLT). There is dignity in diligence!
There is never going to be a time in your life when you can guarantee that all your circumstances and situations will line up so perfectly that you would never need to deal with or overcome something in order to get to the place you desire to be at that given time.
Our text suggests that we will not always have the perfect conditions in which to do the work that we need to do, yet we can strive to be fruitful despite the absence of optimal conditions. God has given us grace to produce result even in the difficult circumstances provoked by the fall; and He will bless your diligent effort.
The question is not whether there will be “wind and clouds” in your life that threatens to hinder your plans or to discourage you from taking that next step. The life-changing question is what will your response be to “the wind and the clouds”? To be fruitful in any aspect of life we have to learn how to work without seeing “the wind and the clouds” as excuses for doing nothing but as set-backs that we have to overcome so that performance is not unduly hampered.
Like many similar Bible passages, our text teaches the value of diligence and consequence of laziness. This concern is expressed succinctly in Proverbs 10:4 thus, “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” And I implore you to understand this passage in the more general sense of “failure” and of being “successful”.
Life is peppered with imperfections and punctuated by unforeseen circumstances that often disrupt and cause plans to be altered; yet life must be lived under these imperfect conditions albeit by the grace that God gives, and should not be put on hold waiting for perfect conditions, Mr Right, right connections, and so on.
Get on with living! There is never going to be a job or a business that assures success without overcoming challenges. You will have to deal with people and systems, and neither is perfect. There's never going to be a marriage so perfect that it is devoid of differences of opinion and occasional spats. People who are preoccupied with "the wind and the clouds" in their marriage, for example, will always be dissatisfied. They never actually commit the time and effort necessary to build a lasting loving relationship and a happy home because they waste the time and expend their emotional energy “observing the wind and regarding the clouds”.
The truth is that as long as we are still here in this physical world, we must be ready to function as best as we can under imperfect conditions. We must be ready, whatever the wind condition, to plant our seed in seedtime, and when the harvest is ripe we must be ready to go out to the field and bring in the harvest regardless of the cloud! That's what life is: whatever the condition, doing nothing is not an option.
If you’re too cautious waiting for the ideal conditions, you will never 'press forward', you will never break through barriers, and you will never get anything done. Am I suggesting that one throws caution to the wind and act rashly? Certainly not! That will be just drifting to the other extreme position, and just as bad as doing nothing.
At the heart of our text, however, is the unavoidable thought that those who insist on waiting for the right moment before they make a decision or do their work or perform their Christian duty would unfortunately live largely unproductive lives.
The future is never in our control and the wind will blow and the clouds will form as they must. But we must have courage and a strong resolve to diligently carry on despite uncertainties: God has created us to find satisfaction in work. “There is nothing better for people to do than to eat, drink, and find satisfaction in their work. I saw that even this comes from the hand of God”, the wise King Solomon observed (Ecclesiastes 2:24, GW).
God created us to be fruitful, industrious, productive, and continually diligent. Make the effort therefor; even when the situation looks hopeless. Fight the good fight of faith anyway. “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically” (Romans 12:11, NLT). There is dignity in diligence!
No comments:
Post a Comment